Ultimate Ninja? Ultimate Avatar? Epic Battle!
by Black-Inque2002
Summary: The Chuunin Exams are here again, only this year there are some new contenders. Can The Aang Gang survive this strange new world of ninja? Pre-Shippuden. AU. ON HIATUS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
1. Players Assemble!

**Ultimate Ninja? Ultimate Avatar? It's An Epic Battle! **

The Chuunin Exams are here again, only this year there are some new contenders; an earthbender, a waterbender, a bald kid with strange tattoos, a sarcastic warrior, and what appears to be a six legged cross between a beaver and a bison. Oh, and there's Momo, too, but he doesn't really do anything. Can theses strangers survive in the harsh and unforgiving ninja world? And what happens when Azula turns her covetous eye on Konoha? Pre-Shippuden. AU.

Avatar Characters: Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Appa, Momo, Zuko, Azula, Mei, Tai Li, Iroh

Naruto Characters: Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Rock Lee, Ten Ten, Gaara, Shikamaru, Temari, Kakashi

..........................................

Aang yawned and stretched as he sat up from his bed of warm sky bison fur, blinking away last night's dreams for morning's sun. He glanced up at Appa and rubbed the great beast's fur affectionately, which was rewarded with a satisfied grunt and lick.

"Hey, buddy,"said Aang with a laugh. "Sleep okay?"

Appa blinked his clear black eyes and grunted again, which Aang understood to mean "yes." Momo, Aang's flying lemur, popped his head curiously over Appa's shoulder and squeaked rapidly, which probably passed as a morning greeting.

"Hey, Momo! You sleep okay, too?"

Momo chittered excitedly, jumping down onto the boy's shoulder.

"Morning, Aang."

He turned, seeing Katara already busy preparing breakfast, which was yet another helping of overcooked rice and dried fish. As much as Aang sometimes longed for the steamed vegetables that the monks had regularly eaten, he was at least grateful that Katara wasn't making those sour sea berries or whatever they were that people from the Water Tribe seemed to like so much.

Katara offered him a cheerful smile, which made his heart skip a beat the way it did whenever she looked at him. Sokka, unsurprisingly, was still asleep, gangly limbs sprawled out underneath a blue blanket that had somehow managed to twist itself around his legs. Occasionally he could be heard muttering something along the lines of "Mmmm...Suki...." Toph too, was still off in dreamland, the dirty soles of her feet sticking out from her stone tent. Her dreams were quite different than Sokka's romantic escapades. Hers involved Katara and a large boulder, and things going _squish. _

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, thanks,"said Aang as he got up to help Katara. "How about you?"

"Fine. The rice is almost done. Can you get the fish out and then go see if sleepyhead over there wants to join us?" She nodded in Sokka's general direction with a roll of her eyes in mock exasperation at her brother's tendency to oversleep in spite of the schedules he liked to make.

"I'll do it," came a voice from the stone tent. A quick stomp sent the rocks crumbling, revealing Toph, who knuckled her eyes with one hand while she stretched out her other arm.

"Morning, Toph,"said Katara as she took the fish Aang handed her and laid them out on small stones over the fire to cook.

"Morning, Sugar Queen. Is Twinkle Toes awake yet?"

"Yep,"said Aang, noting with some amusement the way Katara frowned slightly at being called "Sugar Queen" again. Toph was in the habit of giving people nicknames whether they liked them or not; "Twinkle Toes" and "Sugar Queen" were probably going to be around for a while.

She nodded at Aang and shuffled over to Sokka's prone form, feet questing about for something to kick. A miffed "ow!" told Katara and Aang she'd found her target.

"What was that for?"cried Sokka, jerking up into a sitting position to nurse his shoulder.

"Sorry," said Toph, although the laughter in her voice implied just the opposite. "You were just too easy."

"I get no respect around here! I hunt our food, plan our schedules, set up the campsite, and this is the thanks I get? A kick in the shoulder?"

"Oh, quit whining! I didn't even kick you that hard!"

"Let see what the bruise has to say about that!"

"Oh, yeah,"sighed Katara, watching the squabble the way someone would watch a slap fight between three year olds, "This is gonna be going on all day. Sokka, get over here and eat!"

"But Toph kicked me!"

"Just get over here already!"

Grumbling under his breath, Sokka untangled himself from the blanket and scooted towards the fire, shooting Toph the mother of all death glares, which of course, went totally unnoticed by her.

"So, Aang,"said Katara, changing the subject and ignoring her brother as completely as only siblings could. "Do you want to practice more waterbending forms? Or do you want to practice with Toph?"

Aang tapped the ends of his chopsticks against his lips as he mulled the question over. Then he brightened as he remembered something, reaching out to grab his knapsack and ferreted through it until he found what he was looking for.

"Here!"he exclaimed, holding up a piece of parchment and grinning gleefully. Sokka and Katara peered curiously at what appeared to be a flyer advertising something in loud brushstrokes.

"Well, what is it?"asked Toph. "Why'd everyone stop talking?"

"Let's see that..."Katara plucked the paper from Aang's hands and read aloud. "The Village of Konoha is hosting the annual Chuunin Exams this week. Come show us what your village is made of. Must be at least twelve years of age and a graduating genin from an accredited academy to apply."

"What's a 'genin'?" said Toph, wrinkling her nose at the strange word.

"I'm not sure..."Katara replied hesitantly, studying the kanji with a puzzled frown.

"Aang, what on earth does this have to do with our mission?"Sokka questioned skeptically, eyeing the little avatar with a distrustfulness one usually reserves when they think they're being sold something they have no intention of using. "You're not a 'ge-nan', or whatever--"

"Genin," corrected Katara.

"Whatever! The point is, you're not a _'genin'_--" here he glared at his sister, who only smiled sweetly and began scooping out rice-- "and you're not from an academy, so you can't even apply for...whatever this exam thing is."

"Yes, I can," Aang said with undeterred certainty. "Don't you understand what this means? This could be the perfect opportunity for me to get all the practice I need!"

When this was met with silence and a stare of even deeper suspicion, he explained: "Look, I've been studying waterbending and earthbending, but I need to get a lot stronger. Maybe this Chuunin Exam can help! I'd actually be fighting real opponents instead of practice dummies!"

Sokka wasn't buying it. "I don't know. The flyer said you have to be a genin, but how can you even pretend to be one when you don't even know what it is? And it says you have to be from an academy, which means they'll want papers. _And _let's not forget we're trying to keep a low profile. If we enter, it'll make it easier for someone from the Fire Nation to spot us."

Toph snorted derisively. "Like that's really worked so far. The Fire Nation seems to find us no matter what we do."

"Toph has a point,"Katara conceded. "But Aang, it's like Sokka said. How would you even enter?"

"It's okay. I have it all figured out,"said the boy brightly, his grey eyes sparkling with anticipation. "A long time ago, there were tribes of people called 'ninja' who were hired by noblemen to spy on and assassinate their rivals. They developed elemental techniques called 'jutsu' and used them in their battles. There are, or were, Five Great Ninja Nations: Fire, Sand, Lightning, Water, and Rock, and the all had a leader called a 'kage'. Every year they had a tournament hosted by one of the nations to see who would bring their village the most honor and who would advance to the rank of chuunin. See, ninja have three ranks; genin, chuunin, and jounin. They have to take tests and complete missions in order to reach the next rank. So, you see, if _they_ have elemental fighters like us, I could really learn a lot. Maybe you all could too!"

There was a long, stunned silence in the wake of this revelation about a people and countries no one had ever heard of up to this point.

"Aang," said Katara slowly, concern in her blue eyes. "Are you sure you're getting enough sleep?"

"I think you just made all that up," said Toph, crossing her arms and sneering. "There's no such thing as ninja."

"I did not!" Aang retorted defensively. "Master Giatso taught me all about them! There were even a few who came to the temple to meditate!"

Sokka, ever the realist and always ready to kill an idea by pointing out its inherent flaws promptly put this ability to use.

"Problem,"he said, holding up a finger to silence Toph, who was looking ready to say something nasty. "You said "were." Those ninja were probably wiped out by the Fire Nation when you were inside that iceberg. If they were around before, they might not be now."

"Well, they have to be if they're advertising in the Earth Kingdom!" Aang protested, thrusting the poster under Sokka's nose as if doing so would make the older boy more ready to believe him if he just held the paper really, _really _close.

Reluctantly, Sokka took the poster and carefully examined the kanji on it. It didn't appear to be from any of the countries he knew of, and after a few moments, he had to admit to himself that the brushstrokes were in a style he'd never seen before. There was an official looking red seal stamped on the lower right hand corner, bearing an odd swirl design with a triangle sticking out of it.

"Hmmm,"he murmured thoughtfully, rubbing at the back of his neck as he tried to make sense of it. "You know...Aang might be right. I don't think I've ever seen kanji written like this. Have you, Katara?"

His sister inched closer so she could look over his shoulder.

"I don't think so. But I don't really know about stuff like that. You really think that whole story about ninja is true?"

"It _is!_"

"I guess it _could_ be," Sokka said, the tone of his voice dancing around acceptance as he continued to squint at the paper. "Aang, where do these ninja live?"

Aang's expression promptly melted from defensive petulance to eager brightness. He sat up, squaring his little shoulders as he prepared to impart more obscure information.

"Pretty far. I think they live on the other side of the world."

"The _other side of the world?_"

"Oh, come on!" cried Toph as she threw her arms up in irritation. As much as she liked to have her fun, even she had a limit of how far she was willing to push a joke. "There's nothing on the other side of the world! It's just a big ocean! If this is some kind of prank, it's not funny."

"It's not! I already told you, I wouldn't joke about something like this."

"Hang on! Everyone just settle down a minute!" Katara cut in, sweeping her arms out in a definitive and much practiced "cease and desist" motion.

"I for one, am willing to believe Aang," she continued when the others had properly quieted, ignoring Toph's roll of the eyes as she said this. "I don't think he'd go to all this trouble just for a joke."

Aang grinned. He could always count on Katara to side with him.

"Besides, we all know how bad his calligraphy is."

"Hey!"

"I think if we enter this exam, we could all benefit on polishing up our fighting skills for when we eventually have to face the Fire Lord. If it takes flying across the ocean to do it, I don't care. And who knows? There may be other people who can earthbend, Toph. I would love to learn some more water techniques myself. And Sokka can learn a new fighting style."

Sokka threw her a nasty scowl. It was the type of raised-eyebrow, pursed-lipped scowl that said "What are you implying?"

"What's _wrong _with my fighting style?"

The others looked away in embarrassment, not bothering to offer an answer. If it had been nighttime, there would have been an orchestra of crickets composing a lovely serenade to the awkward stillness between them.

"Er..."muttered Aang helpfully.

"All right, all right!" sighed Sokka, the corners of his mouth turning down as he shrugged casually. "I get it. Never mind Sokka. He's just the funny man. He's just the guy who can't bend. Oh, but he _does_ have a pretty boomerang. Watch him twirl it."

"Um...that's not what I meant...." Katara stammered with a blush. Her fingers twiddled in her lap as she struggled to spin the conversation into something positive. "Just because you can't bend doesn't mean you're not impor---"

"Katara, what exactly is it about sarcasm that you don't get?"

***************************

"Princess Azula."

The young girl raised her dark eyes disinterestedly at the messenger as he kowtowed before her, offering up a scroll. Her father, the Fire Lord, was off on a military inspection and had left the day to day operations to her in the meantime. She was seated languidly on the dais usually occupied by Ozai, surrounded by a wall of cool blue flames. (Well, as long as _she_ was sitting on the throne, the fire may as well be _her _color.)

"What is it?"she drawled in a voice more suited to something that stalks the savanna grasslands waiting for something young and weak to wobble by. She tapped an impatient and exquisitely manicured fingernail on her knee. What was is this time? A minor uprising in the Earth Kingdom colonies? A request for increased funding at the Royal Academy? So boring. So _beneath_ her. Didn't her father have secretaries and aides to do that petty errand running?

"A message has come from the Fire Country's Hidden Village."

Azula sat up and leaned forward, her interest instantly piqued. Her father had mentioned the ninja nations only in passing; no one had seen or heard from them in over fifty years. Most people these days had never even heard the word "ninja". To suddenly receive a message from one of the secretive and mysterious countries across the ocean provided a much more engaging diversion than, well, raising taxes. She herself didn't know exactly how many countries existed. She had only heard of the Fire Country, which had once held a very close relationship with the Fire Nation back even before Sozin's time.

"Konoha?" she asked, her eyes acquiring a glint that was entirely too predatory for a fourteen year old. "Well, what are you waiting for? Read it!"

The messenger again kowtowed, and Azula was pleased to see the little shiver that quaked its way down his arms. And he was right to be afraid, lest he waste her time.

"The Hokage of the Village of Konoha sends its greetings to the Fire Lord of the Fire Nation. It has been fifty years since our great nations have exchanged words, a length of time we are all too sorry for. Our lands have been broken by war, which has made it difficult, if not impossible for communication with the outside world. It has only been in the last twelve years that our nation has rebuilt itself and achieved stability. To celebrate the advent of peace and to honor the lives of those who defended our village, we are reviving the our traditional Chuunin Exams, and would like to extend our invitation to our most esteemed sister nation. We will commence the opening ceremonies in seven days. If, however, you are unable to attend---"

"Wonderful,"Azula interrupted, waving her hand dismissively. "Seven days, you say?"

"Y-yes, Princess."

A devilish smile played over her rouged lips as she mused over the letter. A visit to an unknown land could prove not only interesting, but provide an opportunity for a very important alliance. One Fire Nation was quite efficient to subjugate the rest of the world, but two combined Fire Nations would be nigh unstoppable. Ozai, in a carefully worded letter, would certainly understand. And he would be proud of his daughter's efforts to strengthen his kingdom.

"Send a letter to Konoha. Tell them the Fire Nation gladly accepts their invitation. And fetch me Mei and Tai Li. I'm sure they'd love a trip abroad, don't you?"

"It will be done as you say, Princess."

******************

"Absolutely not."

"Come on, Zuko..."

"No."

"It'll be good for you."

"I said no."

Zuko, banished prince of the Fire Nation and his uncle, Iroh, were standing in front of a sign post, looking at the aforementioned advertisement nailed to the wood. Iroh, ever aware of his nephew's need to socialize and feel normal every now and again, had immediately spotted the poster with a thoughtful "hmph." He hadn't heard anything about Konoha since his boyhood days from stories told to him by his father, Azulon. He'd assumed that the ninja had vanished, possibly wiped out by Azulon, but apparently not. These Chuunin Exams were a chance to see theses reclusive and mysterious clans up close, which he had always secretly wanted to do. Imagine the knowledge and wisdom they would have! Techniques even _he _didn't know!

It would also be a chance to flee the Earth Kingdom and evade detection from Ozai on the other side of the world. He and Zuko would truly be able to start over again and lead a quiet, unassuming life without worrying that someone would recognize them. And Zuko would find a master to guide his unfocused energy and he would grow into a strong man. And he could finally open that tea shop he'd been dreaming of for last ten years.

Zuko, on the other hand, had quite the opposite reaction to his uncle's suggestion. What point was there in traveling to an unknown continent when he had his destiny to fulfill? There was an avatar running around out there that needed capturing, and he had a throne that needed getting back, not to mention a snarky sister that needed to be put in her place. How could he possibly restore his honor participating in some ridiculous exam? What was he supposed to say to his father when he finally returned home? "Er...gee, Dad. Sorry about not getting you that avatar you wanted. I was uh....out becoming a Chuunin or something...."

Hell _no._

But Iroh, being the patient man he was, had expected this. He knew the only way to convince Zuko to cross the ocean would be by his sense of honor.

"Prince Zuko, think of it this way,"he said slowly. "It's only for a a few days. You could use a rest, ease your mind. Besides, it would be a chance to make some friends, maybe even find a master."

"I don't _need_ friends or a master,"Zuko growled petulantly. "What I need is to keep going until I capture the Avatar. There is no easing my mind."

"All right then,"Iroh said with a nonchalant shrug, shifting tactics to appear uninterested. "Let's keep going. We shouldn't bother passing up an opportunity to learn techniques that _Azula_ doesn't know about. No, not at all. We--"

"Wait," Zuko interrupted, interest creeping into his otherwise surly expression. "What did you say about Azula?"

"Well, from what I remember from my father, ninja are elemental warriors who have spent centuries developing their art,"Iroh explained, stroking his beard and studying his nephew's reaction through the corners of his eyes, dropping his words like a tasty morsel dangling on a string. "Who knows what they can do? Their ways have been lost for nearly a century."

"They can bend?"

A sly smile crept its way across his uncles lips.

"Something like that."

He could see the wheels turning in Zuko's mind, the frown on his face disappearing as his features became more curious. He was just about to bite; Iroh knew he'd always been jealous of Azula's prodigious skills, and that if he could ever find a way to one up her, he'd take it without thinking.

"What techniques are these, Uncle? I know you know."

"Some are the same as ours; fire, earth, air and water, but there are others....eye techniques to hypnotize your enemy, paralysis, shadow clones..."

Zuko's eyes got a hungry look to them, growing wider at the sound of these exotic and powerful abilities. He imagined returning triumphantly home, avatar in hand, and promptly using his new techniques to freeze Azula to the ground so she could only watch in humiliation as he succeeded in something she had not.

"All right,"he said grudgingly, not wanting to appear too eager. "Let's find these ninja."

Iroh smiled.

"Let's make for the nearest port. We have seven days to get there."

*****************

AN: Soooo.....how was it? Apologies if I didn't quite get a handle on everyone's characters. I've never written for Avatar or Naruto before, so please be kind with feedback. This isn't really meant to be anything too serious, anyhow. Just a crazy little idea I wanted to put down on paper.


	2. To Konoha We Go

Author's Note: Holy cupcakes! Thanks to everyone who's reviewed/favorited this story! I was so incredibly shocked that so many people liked it! *blushes* Hopefully I can keep it comin'.

********************

Mei sighed as she looked over the railing of the ship, expressionless as usual. Why had Azula insisted that she and Tai Li accompany her to this weird place called Konoha? If it was on the other side of the world, it was probably more backward than even the Water Tribes. How could she enjoy herself in a place like that? There would be no fire flakes, no fruit tarts. Heck, they probably didn't even have indoor plumbing! Ugh.

She shuddered a little at the idea of visiting a "hidden village", which she surmised was hidden because no one _wanted_ to go there in the first place. And what was a Chuunin Exam, and why was it so terribly important to see? Azula had been vague on the details. She'd merely swept into Mei's home, declared that she should pack for a long trip, and marched back out in typical Azula brusqueness.

Oh well, she thought, propping her elbows on the rail so she could rest her narrow chin in her palms. At least it was something to do. Better than laying around the mansion with only her two year old brother for company and her mother nagging at her to get a hobby. Boring.

Tai Li had been excited. But Tai Li was excited and happy to do anything Azula wanted her to do. Like a puppy.

A rare smile graced Mei's pale lips as she imagined Azula tugging on a leash with Tai Li on the other end and shouting out commands, which she was awfully good at. "Tai Li, sit! Tai Li, come! Tai Li, stay! Bad Tai Li, messing on the carpet!"

"Oh, there you are!"

Mei blinked, turning to see said puppy scampering towards her, long brown braid bouncing along behind. Tai Li was beaming, large eyes sparkling with delight as she came to a graceful stop in front her friend, the air around her pink-clad form positively radiating sunshine.

Mei felt sick.

"Azula has been looking for you. We're meeting on the bridge and she's going to tell us about our mission."

"Mission?"asked Mei, arching a eyebrow that was barely visible underneath her blunt bangs. "I thought we were going on a trip."

"Yeah, she told us that to get us to come along,"Tai Li nodded, evidently unperturbed at the deception. "But we're actually going on a mission! Isn't that exciting? I wonder what Konoha is like? You know no one has seen it in over a century? I bet there's a ton of cute boy ninja there!"

Mei stoically bore through Tai Li's chatter, returning her friend's grin with a blank stare.

"Sounds wonderful,"she said dully. "Finished?"

"Yep!"

"All right. Let's go."

Azula was waiting, hands clasped behind her back in a businesslike manner, scowling a little at Mei as she entered, miffed at having been made to wait. That sallow-faced twat could find another time to go sulk on the deck.

Once they stood before her throne, she cleared her throat and began her briefing.

"As you know, we're heading for Konoha. I realize I may have been unclear as to why. But don't worry. I can assure you this mission will be unprecedented in Fire Nation history."

Mei tried to suppress a groan at the mention of the words "unprecedented" and "Fire Nation history." Those words spelled trouble. Those words also coupled with that deadly gleam in Azula's eye spelled trouble _and _lots of boring political maneuvering and senseless violence.

_Don't tell me,_ she thought sarcastically. _We're going to pretend to form an alliance with the ruler, stage a coup, and then take control of their army. Can't we go on a normal vacation for once? _

"Their leader, the hokage, has issued a personal invitation for me to attend their annual Chuunin Exam, which determines who among their clans is the strongest. This is a great honor. The Fire Nation and The Fire Country once were close political allies, but an ongoing civil war has prevented them from outside contact for the last fifty years. I intend to re-establish that connection. Because, girls, two Fire Nations are better than one, right?"

The princess paused to take in their reactions, golden eyes aflame with the passion for conquest. Why, she could practically_ taste_ victory...the peasants cowering in subjugation as vast armies swept the earth, she and her father standing at the peak of their glorious dominion that stretched from horizon to horizon without end, the_ absolute-_--

"I don't get it,"Tai Li said, blinking vapidly. "Why would we need two Fire Nations?"

Azula squeezed her eyes shut in pain as her imaginary empire began to crumble. The armies retreated. Mei rolled her eyes and hid her face in her sleeve, shaking her head.

Azula's jaw worked side to side as she drew in deep breath to calm herself as she felt her temper begin to flare. It wasn't so much that Tai Li was unintelligent as she was naive and hopelessly lost when it came to politics, although the balancing acts and tightrope walking of the circus was remarkably similar. Both relied on a certain amount of performance skills. It was just that Azula's brand was more subtle, more content to wait through the long term before she finally struck. If Tai Li's performances were akin to a bargain theater, Azula's was right up there in nominees for Best Motion Picture.

The princess opened her eyes and sighed.

"Tai Li, the Fire Nation is the strongest nation on earth, is it not?"she asked, her voice slow and deliberate.

The other girl nodded. Not that she had much of an option.

Azula held up the index finger of her right hand as a visual aid, which tended to help from time to time. Especially when there was blue lightning sizzling from the tip. People tended to get her point rather quickly then.

"All right. This,"she wiggled her finger, "Is us. And this," here she held up her left index finger, "is Konoha. When we bring the two together we become...?"

She drew her fingertips together, waiting expectantly for the answer, lips drawn into a tight, frustrated line.

"We become stronger?"  
Azula ground her fingers together the way a billiards player grinds chalk on the cue tip, her eyes catching the sinister glint of the tiny, faint blue sparks darting up between them.

"_Precisely,_"she said through a grin that revealed far too many teeth than should have been possible. Satisfied, she dropped her hands to her sides and assumed a more relaxed stance. "You two are coming along with me in case there are any immediate threats to my person---and also, if a chance presents itself, to participate."

Mei's head jerked up, her face wearing a rare expression of shock.

"Participate?" she asked incredulously. "You've got to be kidding!"

"Wow! Really?" Tai Li gushed, clasping her hands in front of her chest in an almost worshipful gesture. "That sounds like so much fun!" She turned her thrilled gaze to Mei, who couldn't have been more unenthused if you'd told her she was going to a tea party with the famously colorful Kyoshi warriors. "It'll be fun, Mei! You'll see!"

Mei only groaned and rolled her eyes again, which made Azula secretly want to poke them out of her skull.

"Couldn't we have just gone to Ember Island?"

*************************

A week on flying over open ocean had left everyone in a thoroughly nasty mood. Toph was about ready to go insane from the lack of solid ground and Katara was sick of listening to her complain. Aang had tried to keep up a positive attitude to keep everyone calm, but after three days of constant female bickering, he'd given up, as had Sokka, who'd also tried his best to keep things lighthearted through a few lengthy anecdotes full of humor and action. It hadn't worked. Katara had yelled at him for not taking their situation seriously, and Toph had yelled at him for always taking Katara's side during their arguments. He instead had taken up with Aang at the driver's end, relieved at least that the boy's mood didn't change every three seconds and took turns with the reigns. Daydreams of Suki and a quiet, candlelit tent out in the middle of nowhere had kept Sokka from completely losing it. Sometimes it was Yue in the tent. Sometimes it was both. Sokka especially liked those daydreams.

And poor Appa had by now had it with all of them. There had only been a few tiny islands for them to stop on over the course of their journey, leaving the bison little time to rest. He was exhausted and eager to find land.

And Momo? Eh...well...

"Aang!" cried Toph with a crazed look of desperation in her sightless eyes. "How much longer? Seriously, if I don't find a good piece of rock soon, I'm gonna scream!"

"You already _are _screaming!"Katara retorted sharply, looking up from her needlework to glare at the girl. "You've been screaming about it for the last five days! I should know, I've had to put up with it!"

"Well, look who's talking! Or screaming too, I should say! You've done your fair share of screaming down _my _ears, Sugar Queen! I'm surprised I'm not _deaf_ as well as blind!"

Murder sat on Katara's face. Wisely, Sokka and Aang pretended not to see it and made a point of concentrating very hard on keeping Appa in the air.

"Are you implying I'm loud?" she demanded, forgetting her needlework to thrust her hands on her hips. The air seemed to boil between them.

"Yeah, and you know what _else_ I'm implying? That you're overbearing, motherly, controlling, and a Little Miss Prissy Pants!"

There was enough boil and steam in the air now for a freight engine, recklessly plowing its way past the point of Temper Tantrum and swiftly approaching Meltdown. Katara felt her hands curl into hard little fists as she thrust her lower lip out into the dangerous pout Sokka and Aang knew well, and Toph was going to be acquainted with very shortly, despite the fact that she couldn't see it. That pout was the precursor to a full blown maternal fury.

No one wanted to see Katara maternal._ No one. _

"Oh, am I?" she replied, her voice cold, posture arranged in a textbook example of Stern Schoolmistress. "Well, let me tell _you_ something! You're a spoiled, selfish, ungrateful brat who's barely lifted a finger since she's joined us! All you do is complain! I'm sick to death of it! So why don't you just settle down, be quiet, and _cool it_ for once?!"

"Uh...guys?"

A tentative, tiny voice broke the silence of the brewing hurricane, an insignificant ray of sunshine among the dark, thundering clouds. Aang knew what he was walking into, the perils of trying to break up a fight between his female companions, but he braved it, because the news had was terribly important.

"I...uh...think we might be here..."

As suddenly as it had roared to life, the screaming match between Toph and Katara fizzled out as the impact of what Aang had told them slowly sank its way between clenched jaws and withering scowls. The was a painfully long pause, during which Sokka and Aang exchanged nervous glances, wondering if they shouldn't be looking back to check for damage control, then a barrage of questions hit them all at once:

"Are you sure?"

"Do you really mean it?"

"Can you see land?"  
"What are we going to do _when _we land?"

"What if they're not friendly--"

"Okay! Okay!" shouted Sokka, finally unable to keep silent. He turned in his seat and thrust his hands into Katara's and Toph's anxious faces, gently, yet in a way which brooked no argument, clamping his palms over their mouths. "Shhh! Okay...We'll figure out what to do when we find a place to land. Just calm down, like so and take a big, deep breath," here he sighed deeply, a discernible twitch in his left eye, "and _relax._ Can you do that?"

The two girls nodded. Sokka smiled wearily in return and slowly removed his hands, half-expecting his sister to start asking questions again. To her credit, Katara remained silent, yet an expression of relief mixed with new anxieties still lingered on her face. Toph was quicker to let go of her temper and leaned back against the saddle's edge, placated at least now that she knew her feet would soon feel the blessedly solid ground beneath her again.

A vast coastline spread out before them on the horizon, black with distance, yet growing clearer by the minute. It wasn't long before they could make out the rocky shoreline of a slender peninsula, and the stretches of ancient cypress and elm trees rising up to greet them.

"That's it!"cried Aang, excitement easily replacing his earlier fatigue. An old, faded map lay sprawled across his lap as Sokka took the reigns to steer Appa in the correct direction. The older boy occasionally glanced over Aang's shoulder as he drove to get a better idea of where he was going. Aang stabbed at a large country which once had been colored red, but had now washed out into a dull, burnt shade.

"According to the map, Konoha should be near the center of the Fire Country. We can land soon and make camp, then figure out the best way to get there. I don't want to fly Appa any more than he has already."

"Sounds good enough for me,"conceded Sokka. "I'm just happy to be back on the ground again."

"You said it,"chimed in Toph. "I actually _feel_ blind up here!"

"Don't worry, guys! This is going to be the greatest thing ever!"

Aang's cheerful grin was met with raised eyebrows and thin-lipped stares of annoyance that suggested that the only thing "great" about this whole ordeal was how spending five days in close quarters flying over the ocean could drive a person to madness. Aang felt a drop of sweat slide down his back as he blushed furiously, rubbing his neck in chagrin. He chuckled nervously and promptly turned his attention to his bison.

"Uhh...yeah...Lots to learn! Appa! We're almost there! Yip, yip!"

Appa roared in reply, which due to the bison's frustration Aang took to mean something that wasn't suitable for family publication.

It was nearing dusk by the time they landed, having chosen an isolated spot of beach that from the air had appeared to be far from any sort of town or village. A good place to spend the night without being discovered. Appa had immediately fallen asleep, which no one blamed him for. It was just as well, for the fading light left them precious little time to set up camp; they'd only been able to unroll their sleeping pallets and build a fire before darkness was upon them. Huddled under their blankets, they ate what remained of their store of dried fish and nuts before discussing what to do next. Aang took out his map again and was now peering over it with Sokka, Katara and Toph looking on.

"I think we're about here,"he said, tapping a finger on what he thought resembled the beach they were camping on. "It looks like there are a lot of trails, but no real roads until we get further inland."

"Well, we definitely need to stop and get some more supplies,"said Sokka decisively, stifling a yawn. As exhausted as they all were, no one wanted to go to sleep until they'd come up with a plan. "I say this looks like a good place."

He pointed to a village a few inches west of Aang's finger.

"Misora Village,"said the boy, studying the small black circle, again feeling the stirrings of excitement in his chest. Who knew what wonderful and strange new things lay beyond the trees? Would there be any ninja in Misora? Would they be friendly? Would they know anything about the Avatar?

He nodded. "Sounds good. We should reach it by mid-day if we move fast enough."

"And look here,"interjected Katara unexpectedly, inching closer to trace a brown fingertip over what looked to be a road. Her sudden interest surprised Aang, for she hadn't seemed very keen about their quest ever since they'd touched down earlier that evening. Now that the realities of the situation were dawning on her, she was starting to feel more positive. "There's a road that connects to a main thoroughfare that leads straight to Konoha."

Aang felt his smile widen, not only pleased that Katara was warming up to his idea, but also pleased that her hand was a mere five inches from his. She sure did look beautiful by firelight, the way the orange glow created a halo around her hair and flushed her skin, the way her large blue eyes were narrowed in concentration over the map, the way--

He felt a slight knock against his head interrupt his dreamy appraisal of the young waterbender. Blinking rapidly, he turned an irritated look at said waterbender's brother who'd none so subtly dared to bring him back down to earth.

"The map is over_ here,_ Aang" quipped Sokka dryly, gesturing very deliberately at the dusty parchment under his hand. There did, however, seem to be the slightest ghost of a grin at the edges of his mouth as he said this.

"Well, that sounds like as good a plan as any to me,"said Toph sleepily, allowing Aang a chance to recover from his mild embarrassment. "Let's call it a day."

The other three nodded emphatically, weariness dragging itself across their faces as they bid each other goodnight and settled down to a welcome, true rest.


	3. Ninjas Are Real

AN: Wow! Again, I'm shocked at all the positive response this has gotten! ^^ Thanks so much, everyone!

Also, I want to apologize ahead of time if the characters seem, well, out of character. Especially Kakashi. I wasn't exactly sure how to write him, but hopefully he's Kakashi-ish enough.

************

Hatake Kakashi wasn't the sort of man who believed in fate. He wasn't the sort of man who believed in destiny. He wasn't even sure what the difference between the two were. But as he sat in Misora Village's only teahouse, he had an odd tingling sensation that something _strange_ was going to happen today.

He couldn't say why. It might have been the upcoming Chuunin exams, but he'd seen and participated in enough of them to know how they worked. A sensible person might point out that he was worried over his new students, this being their first time in said exam, but he had enough confidence that he'd taught them well. His only real concern was that hopefully Uzumaki Naruto wasn't too much of an idiot to forget his training. That boy must have some sort of attention deficit problem. Especially when it came to his crush, Haruno Sakura.

Kakashi shook his head to clear his mind and focus on enjoying his quiet cup of tea, still aware of the creeping sensation on the back of his neck. He was the only ninja in the teahouse, unless he'd failed to study the other occupants closely enough, but to him they looked like regular village folk. There didn't seem to be anyone suspicious around.

He shrugged and lowered his mask briefly to take another sip. He was on his way back from the Tea Country, cleaning up a little misunderstanding about a certain criminal organization monopolizing the tea trade with the Fire Country. A minor mission, B rank, and mostly done because he'd wanted the extra payment. A trip to the balmy, terraced landscape that made Tea Country so famous never hurt, either. Tomorrow would be back to business, checking up on his team to make sure they were ready. The exam was the day after tomorrow.

The universe must have had it out for him that day, because even though he wasn't the type of person who believed in fate, the next moment would be enough to make him reconsider the idea.

The sound of youthful voices outside the entrance curtain made him blink and turn around to see the most unusual-looking group of children walk in.

Two boys and two girls, three of them engrossed in a tattered old map the smallest of them was holding. The tallest boy and girl were dark-skinned with blue eyes, obviously siblings, and wearing blue clothing that was from a tribe that Kakashi was unfamiliar with. The boy had a boomerang slung across his back and wore an irascible expression that made Kakashi think immediately of Shikamaru.

The other girl was much shorter, dressed in yellow and green, also in a style that Kakshi didn't recognize. Her eyes were clouded over and staring vacantly at the opposite wall, making it clear she was blind, yet she didn't seem to need any help from her companions. She also wore no shoes, which was very odd.

The youngest looking of the group was boy, bald and with a strange arrow tattoo arching down over his forehead. The map he held covered up most of his yellow outfit which looked similar to the saffron robes of the monks back in Fire Country. There was also some sort of bat-like creature sitting on his shoulders and peering around with bright, curious black eyes.

Kakashi was a bit dumbfounded, a feeling he wasn't too familiar with. He drank in the details of these bizarre little travelers, trying and failing to identify where they had come from. They wore no hitai ate, so they weren't genin, yet they had an air of martial experience about them.

They also looked horribly lost.

The boy folded the map back up, appearing to have made up his mind about something and gestured towards the counter, where Kakashi was sitting. The others shrugged and followed him. Kakashi quickly turned away, yet still kept them in his periphery. He sensed no abnormal chakra levels in their bodies, although the tattooed boy carried some deeply latent energy. Kakashi was unable to tell if it was a seal, for it didn't read like a typical jutsu, and it certainly wasn't powerful enough for a bijuu. In any case, said energy lay dormant for the moment, although it prompted a bit of apprehension in the jounin.

"I'll have four teas, please," said the boy as he came up to the counter. Now that he was close, Kakashi was a bit surprised to find that his face, with its wide, carefree grin made him think of Naruto.

The tea girl nodded, looking a little uncertain as she gave their clothing a once over before turning to fill four mismatched ceramic cups.

Their accents were strange too, Kakashi noted. Where on _earth_ were they from?

The boy seemed to feel the ninja's stare, for suddenly his grin was turned on him.

"Hi," said the boy brightly.

Kakashi started, not expecting the boy to catch his observation. He frowned a bit beneath his mask before returning the greeting with a casual wave of his hand.

"Nice day, isn't it?"said the boy again in his strange accent. The tea was placed in front of him but he didn't seem to notice.

"Aang, stop bothering the guy,"said the older boy, taking his cup and saucer with a disapproving look.

"I was just trying to make conversation, Sokka,"Aang protested. "We came all this way, we might as well get to know the locals."

The one called Sokka sighed and shook his head. He didn't seem to be a very sociable type.

"Oh, Sokka, don't be such a bore,"said his sister. "It can't hurt. Maybe we can see if anyone knows a shortcut to Konoha."

Kakashi felt his apprehension deepen a little at the mention of his village. How did these strangers know about Konoha? Were they actually genin after all? If so, where was their instructor?

"I say we stick to the map," the blind girl was saying. "We can't afford to waste time taking another way if we want to make it for that...whatever it is..."

"Chuunin Exam!" cried Aang, peeved that he was the only one who could remember how to say it correctly.

"Well, just don't get too chatty," Sokka warned. "Remember, we're still trying to keep a low profile."

_They know about the Chuunin Exam too?_ Kakashi thought, now extremely bewildered and annoyed at how the universe had managed to throw a curve into his otherwise pleasant morning.

"Um, excuse me,"said the tea girl, interrupting their conversation. She wore a puzzled expression, yet there were the faintest tinges of suspicion in her brown eyes. "You need to pay for that tea."

Sokka, Aang, and the older girl shot each other nervous glances, eyes wide and fearful. Obviously, they had no idea how to pay, not knowing what sort of money was used here. All they had were the few coins they'd brought with them from the Earth Kingdom. And it was as plain as Sunday that wouldn't work.

"Sokka, what should we do?" whispered the girl anxiously. "We can't pay her."

Kakashi felt himself relax as he continued to observe them. Even if they might be from an enemy village, there was no mistaking that near panicked expression on the brown-skinned girl's face; she looked ready to hand her tea back over and bolt. These kids were exactly that. Kids. Lost and now caught with no money.

He sighed inwardly. Standing, he dug into his pocket and pulled out a handful of yen and slid it over to the girl.

"It's okay,"he said, making sure the kids could hear him. "I've got this one."

The four stopped their whispering and turned to stare at Kakashi in open astonishment, even the blind girl, although how she managed to know where precisely he was standing eluded him.

"Wow...thanks!"Aang exclaimed. He bowed deeply in gratitude at this unexpected stroke of luck.

"Ah, it's no problem,"said Kakashi with a shrug.

"Well, we certainly appreciate it," said the older girl, smiling up at him in relief. "Can we repay you somehow?"

The jounin chuckled at her selflessness and shook his head. Sakura might have said something similar.

"It was only a few cups of tea. You all don't seem to be from around here."

"That obvious, huh?" said Sokka dryly with a slightly self-depreciating grin. He glanced down at Aang with a shrug of his own. "Well, so much for keeping a low profile."

Aang gave a nervous sort of laugh and scratched the back of his head.

"Er...sorry. I like meeting new people. Anyway, I'm Aang. This is Sokka, Toph, and Katara. And this little guy right here,"he reached up to scratch the bat-like creature behind the ears, "is Momo."

Kakashi gave them a perfunctory nod and repeated their names to himself, rolling around the exotic syllables in his mind. No one from the shinobi nations had names like those. "Aang" and "Toph" sounded especially strange to him.

"I'm Kakashi. I couldn't help overhear your conversation earlier. You're on your way to Konoha, is that right?"

The effect the word "Konoha" had on this little band of travelers was immediate, almost magical, as though he'd spoken the words to open the gates of heaven itself. Their mouths dropped, their eyes _sparkled. _And Aang look like he was on the verge of Nirvana, making Kakashi wonder distantly at what he'd gotten himself into.

"You..."he stammered, lost in the dreamglow of supreme happiness, "You..wouldn't happen to know a shortcut, would you?"

"I do. It's my home, after all."

Now Aang gawked up at him as though he'd transfigured into a buddha.

"You're not...a..._ninja_...are you?"

Kakashi blinked uncomfortably several times, pursing his lips underneath his mask at the boy's rapturous attentions. Certainly being a ninja awarded you a fair amount of respect, but this kid was treating it almost like a religious experience. Good grief! Obviously there were no ninja wherever they were from; which he was still keen to find out.

"Yes," Kakashi answered slowly, for fear of provoking some sort of hysterical glee.

It didn't matter. The hysterical glee came anyway, complete with wildly gesticulating arms and Aang bouncing excitedly from foot to foot, jarring Momo from his perch and sending the lemur flying into Sokka's face.

"See! See!" he cried, face flushed and euphoric, "I knew it! I told you guys they were real! I told you! I told you!"

Peeling a very perturbed Momo off of his face, Sokka clamped his hands down on Aang's shoulders to still him.

"Okay! Okay! We get it! You were right all along! Now shut up!"

"Wow...I thought Twinkletoes was going to explode there for a second,"quipped Toph. She glanced in Kakashi's general direction. "Don't mind him. He's just been on this ninja kick for the last week. We don't have those Choo-nen Exams or whatever where we're from."

"Chuunin Exams!"

"Uh-huh..."Kakashi felt himself sweatdrop, distinctly aware that Aang's outburst had attracted not only the other customers' attention, but the owner of the tea shop as well. It would definitely be a good idea to leave as soon as possible.

Forcing a smile onto his face, he held up his teacup.

"Say...why don't we finish our tea and talk about this _outside?"_

"Good idea," said Katara and Sokka in unison, propelling the now starstruck Avatar towards an empty table.

********************

"Uugh...I can't believe I let you talk me into this."

Iroh and Zuko were currently packed into a small fishing boat, the boat's owner at the bow rowing them along with an impressively lengthy staff. They'd stowed away on a Fire Nation trading vessel docked in Omashu and sailed to the capital, where they'd snuck onto a much smaller junk that the Fire Nation occasionally sent to trade with outlying islands on the western edge of the known world. From there, travel had become much more cramped and uncomfortable, as they'd only had the goodwill of the local fisherman and their primitive crafts to get them where they needed to go. Nearly six days of little food, little sleep, and Iroh's incessant positive attitude coupled with the stress of having to keep out of sight had deteriorated Zuko's mood. And since Zuko's mood was nearly always a bad one, that was really saying something.

Iroh, for his part, could understand. He'd pretty much whisked his nephew off to uncharted lands where everything would be significantly different from what he'd known, even beyond what he'd seen in the Earth Kingdom. Nevertheless, he stuck to his belief that this was the best thing they could do, and he looked forward to a new life as Iroh the _man_, not Iroh the General, Fire Nation expatriate. Their journey was nearing its end. At least, according to the current fisherman, who was named Taro. He was taking them to the capital of Hahajima, so they could catch a ship north to the Fire Country. And then...

Well, mused Iroh, and then who knew what destiny had in store for them?

"Look at where we are!" Zuko complained, slouching against the stern of the boat and crossing his arms defiantly over his chest. "Look at what we're doing! This is crazy!"

"Sometimes, you have to do crazy things to see where your destiny truly lies," Iroh replied smartly. He was sitting in front of the surly prince, but he didn't need to turn around to know exactly how his nephew would respond to that. He grinned to himself.

"Augh! Enough with your platitudes! My destiny is in the Fire Nation as its prince, not here in this boat in the middle of only Sozin knows where!"

Taro turned to exchange a glance with Iroh, shaking his head and smiling, as if to say, "Yeah, I've got one of those in my family too."

"Then why have you come here?"Iroh returned patiently.

"Because there is no way I'm going to let my elderly uncle travel to some godforsaken country alone. _That's_ why. As soon as this stupid exam is finished, we're going back."

Iroh chuckled lightly to himself.

"The Universe may have a different opinion about that, Prince Zuko."


	4. Azula's Here

AN: Again, thank you to everyone who has reviewed! You all surprise me! :) There's more Naruto characters coming soon, so stick around.

**********

It was large. _Huge, _in fact. And white. It sat like a grounded cloud outside of the tea shop, peacefully munching away at the grass. An arrow similar to the one that graced Aang's scalp arched down between two impressive and sharp horns. A pair of intelligent black eyes peeked out beneath shaggy bangs to regard the stunned Kakashi the way one regards a gnat; slightly bothersome, but altogether an indifferent creature.

It also had six legs. Most mammals would be happy with four.

Kakashi stood firmly rooted to the ground as he continued to gawk at the beast, his brain furiously scrambling to come up with a logical way that such an animal could exist in the first place. If this was an example of how the fauna looked in Aang's lands, he had to wonder if there hadn't been some dire pollution problems that had led to a rather slapdash series of mutations.

"Uh...what--"

"Appa!"cried Aang happily as he darted around the jounin to throw himself at the creature's face. The beast groaned and gave the boy a good natured nuzzle.

"Appa, I want you to meet Kakashi,"said Aang, pointing to his newly acquired ninja friend. "He's going to show us a shortcut to get to Konoha."

Appa grunted, which probably translated as "That's really swell."

"Appa is my sky bison,"Aang explained, giving the animal an affectionate pat. "I've had him ever since he was a baby."

"Ngh..."

"I take it you don't have sky bison here,"Sokka chimed in slyly.

Kakashi shook his head in amazement.

"Not at all. There's nothing like that here."

"They used to be really common,"Aang said, his expression taking on a note of sadness. "Before, well..." He bowed his head for a moment before exhaling and straightening himself up. "Okay. I think we need to explain about where we come from."

"Please do."

"Maybe this will help." Aang swung his pack off of his shoulders and drew his map out with a flourish, spreading it out on the ground in front of them. They moved to cluster around it, Kakashi noticeably taken aback by an entire series of extra continents he'd never seen before. And there, on the very western edge of it all were the islands of what could only be the Sea Country and the peninsula of Tea Country to the north, as well as Water Country.

"Is this...your world?"

"Yes,"said Aang. "There are four nations. Here is the Earth Kingdom," he pointed to the largest continent, which stretched from the north pole nearly to the south and took up the entire right half of the map.

"That's where I'm from!"exclaimed Toph. "The capital is Ba Sing Se. That's also where the earthbenders are from."

"Earth_benders?_"

Toph's face split into a wide, mischievous grin. Clearly she'd been waiting for the chance to show off her skills.

"Watch this."

She stood and marched purposefully off to the side and faced a nearby tree. She settled into a wide-legged stance, hands held up in front of her as though she were channeling some sort of energy. Then her right foot came crashing into the ground swiftly and forcefully, causing a small shockwave to ripple through the earth underneath them. A small wall of dirt and rock hurtled through the tree, splitting it in half and rattling a few branches and irate squirrels down on the grass.

Toph turned around with a satisfied smirk, theatrically dusting off her shoulders as she crouched back down to rejoin the group.

"_That's_ earthbending."

"There are people in our world who can control the elements,"added Katara. She laid a finger on a swath of blue-shaded land on the south pole of the map. "This is where the Southern Water Tribe lives, which is where Sokka and I are from. Waterbenders are usually born here or in the Northern Water Tribe. But, I'm the only waterbender in our tribe now."

Kakashi digested this all in thoughtful silence, noting the bitterness that had entered Katara's eyes at her last few words and filed it away for later. He honestly couldn't let himself get anymore surprised than he already was, although the discovery of an entire separate world that apparently had existed alongside his own for eons did make one pause and wonder how no one had known any of this until now. He made a mental note to bring this to the Hokage's attention as soon they returned.

"And let's not forget the airbenders,"interjected Aang, gesturing at himself as well as four different archipelagos at different points on the map. "These were where the Air Nomads used to live. I grew up at the Southern Air Temple."

"Used to?"questioned Kakashi. "Where are they now?"

An uncomfortable silence followed, the kids exchanging cryptic glances and shifting in their seats. Finally Aang spoke up, his demeanor much more subdued than it had been a few minutes ago. His grey eyes remained downcast the entire time he talked.

"Our world is at war right now...has been at war for the past hundred years. The Fire Nation,"his finger slid slowly towards a red continent west of the Earth Kingdom, "attacked my temple and...and wiped out my people. I only survived because I'd frozen myself underwater just before it happened. The Fire Nation is after me. I'm the Avatar."

_Oh dear, _thought Kakashi, grimacing. _This is going to be far more complicated than I imagined. _

"What is an Avatar?"

"It's the only person in the world who can control all four elements," said Aang. "Which is the reason why I came here."

"Why is that?"

"I need help. _A lot _of help. The Avatar is reborn in cycles, but between each cycle all the knowledge of the previous Avatar is lost. So I have to master the elements from scratch. Toph and Katara have been great teachers but...there's so much more I need to know if I can stop the Fire Nation. My master Giatso told me that ninja used to visit the Air Temples a long time ago to learn about mediation and chakra, so I thought...maybe you would have some techniques that not even the Fire Lord could fight against."

Kakashi sighed heavily, squeezing his eyes shut as he sifted through the complexities of what had just been said, more than a little resentful that it had smacked him in the head right before the Chuunin Exams. He didn't answer straightaway.

Clearly there had been a connection of some kind generations ago bewteen the ninja world and the Avatar world, which had been severed at the beginning of this war Aang had told him about. They knew elemental control that was similar to elemental jutsu, and this Avatar was not unlike a bijuu host that the nations of his world fought to gain for their own ends. That explained the latent energy he'd sensed back in the tea shop. Aang was carrying the combined lives of all his previous incarnations.

This was beyond him. He needed the Sandaime. A council was going to have to be called.

Oh yes, a _lovely_ morning this was turning out to be.

Still...they had come all this way, given up everything they had for a chance at peace. Kakashi knew deep down that he'd regret it if he didn't do anything to help them.

"I don't know,"he said at last. "There might not be much I can personally do for you. I can only take you to the Hokage and see what he says. Only he can decide ultimately whether or not to get involved."

This wasn't obviously what they wanted to hear. Aang, Katara, Sokka and Toph tried to fight the disappointment that edged in on their faces. Finally Aang nodded and bowed, clasping his hands in front of him in a traditional prayerful gesture the Air Nomads used to show respect. The others followed his example.

"If that's the case, our fate is in your hands."

************

A fleet of Fire Nation Empire Class ships bore down on the tiny archipelago that made up Wave Country. Their presence filled anyone who saw them with an inexplicable sense of dread that was quick to dispel any sense of curiosity at these foreign and clearly powerful ships. Where they had come from wasn't certain, but their intent left nothing to the imagination; they had come calling and whoever was in their way had better bloody well stand down.

On the bridge of the lead ship, Azula was being treated to a manicure while listening to the captain give a rundown on their course. Mei was idly tossing a dagger and catching it single-handedly, pretending to be interested in what was being said but really fantasizing about how nicely said dagger would fit in between Azula's vertebrae. Or the captain's. Anything to shut them up, really.

Tai Li, whose aura was just as pink as could be, was contentedly brushing Azula's long hair and occasionally complimenting her on how beautiful it was.

"According to our maps, we should be coming on Water Country within a few hours,"said the captain, a middle aged man named Guo Sheng. "We'll dock and resupply. If my Princess wishes, it would be a good time to disembark---"

"I was already planning on that,"Azula interrupted, jerking a hand away from her maid to critically examine her nails. "You should remember your place and not presume to tell your Princess what she may or may not do. _I_ command this fleet, Captain Sheng."

Sheng had the grace to appear embarrassed, face flushed as he bowed in apology.

"Forgive me, Princess. I will remember my place."

"Get back to work,"Azula growled, barely sparing him a glance. "And you,"she scowled down at her maid, "this last nail is uneven! File it down!"

"I wonder what Kirigakure is like,"mused Tai Li as she began tying Azula's hair up in her characteristic topknot.

"Probably full of nothing,"sighed Mei, tucking her blade back into her sleeve.

"Mei, drop the attitude, because it's really starting to get on my nerves,"Azula growled, throwing her companion a deadly glare over her shoulder.

"Whatever. You guys have fun playing dress up. I'm going topside."

"Don't mind Mei,"soothed Tai Li, sliding the royal crown into Azula's hair. "She just doesn't understand how brilliant your plan is."

"She'll learn to like it," the princess replied, the tones in her voice implying a rather unpleasant alternative. She admired her reflection in a bronze mirror Tai Li held up for her approval. "Perfect. But then, what else did you expect?"

Water Country turned out to be a chilly place wreathed in damp mists and grey skies. Any waterbender would have felt perfectly at home here, but to Azula, it seemed bleak and lifeless, without the pulsing heat of the volcanoes that blazed across the landscape in the Fire Nation. Even the ground was soggy as she stepped off the plank and onto the rickety, half rotted docks of Izumo, the soles of her boots squelching on the water laden wood.

She had to say she shared Mei's sentiment about the place being full of nothing. This tiny village was a crushing disappointment for her first look at the ninja world. She had been hoping for something more...impressive. Awe-inspiring. But then Azula realized that anything outside of her father's kingdom could never truly compete.

Even so, this place was no better than the primitive ice hovels those water tribe peasants holed away in. The buildings appeared crudely and hastily constructed, as though quantity rather than quality had been the primary concern and indeed, some of them had titled over the years and still others had roofs that looked dangerously close to caving in. Wind and water had scuffed and pitted the wood. It was as though all the shops, homes and shrines were ancient veterans of battle that had decided to collapse in a defeated heap and surrender themselves to the will of the elements.

Tai Li scampered down the plank behind Azula, Mei following more sedately, wrapped in a black shawl that made her look like a large crow.

"Ugh,"she sneered as she took in what pitiful sights Izumo could offer. ""Ugh" pretty much summed it up.

"Look at this place,"said Azula as she watched the shuffle of the villagers going about their daily business through narrowed eyes. A few of the more perceptive ones had stopped to gawk at the unexpected arrival of a massive foreign ship.

"It's um...quaint,"Tai Li said with forced enthusiasm. "Maybe _peasanty?_"

"Save your breath, Tai Li,"Azula said, frowning deeply. "We'll just have to take what we can and go. Sad, really. I was hoping for something truly exotic."

"It's as exotic as I ever want to get,"Mei replied with a shudder. Again she silently asked herself why she'd been dragged all the way out here and why she hadn't yet slipped a dagger between Azula's armor.

Oh, right. She'd go to prison.

"Let's be on our way,"Azula sighed, starting forward down the docks, signaling a small contingent of her men to bring up the rear. Six soldiers immediately hurried down the plank and formed an inverted triangle behind them.

"Is peasanty even a word?" Mei asked as the headed toward what appeared to serve as the marketplace.

Tai Li shrugged.

Mind you, none of this had gone without some notice. It's hard not to notice something as blatant as an entire naval fleet suddenly parking itself in your backyard. People stopped in the middle of their work, awestruck by the gleaming metal and the proudly waving banners of red and gold bearing an emblem none of them knew to be of a shinobi nation. Whispers spread like a breeze through a grassy meadow. Who is this? Who was the young girl in armor coming towards them? Why were there soldiers with her? Was there going to be an invasion?

The first person to find out was an old man selling rice. He blinked several times as Azula approached, suddenly overcome with the feeling that he was being watched by an elite predator. His mouth went dry and he had to clear his throat before he could greet her.

"Welcome! How about some rice! Best in Izumo!"

"How many bags do you have at this stall?"

The man flinched under the intensity of her stare, the way she seemed to be waiting for him to make a mistake.

"Two-two hundred, miss."

"I'll take them all."

"What? But miss...the villagers...we need that rice too...."

"Well, then, isn't that a shame?"Azula said without the slightest hint of sympathy. A tight smile drew across her finely rouged lips, eyes narrowing into icy slits. The turned her head to the nearest soldier and gestured at the rice bags stacked behind the stall.

"Clean him out. In fact, clean as many of them out as you can. And be sure to pay them well...compliments of the Fire Nation. Come, girls. We're going off for a little reconnaissance."

"I don't know what that means, but it sounds fun!"exclaimed Tai Li as she fell into step behind Azula, completely missing Mei's eye roll.


	5. Getting to Know You

A/N: I know. I'm horrible. This chapter is short and nothing really happens except exposition, but yours truly has been really busy with work and car trouble and all sorts of fun real-life crap like that. Anyhow, I wanted to save their initial meeting of Team 7 for another chapter. And if you're wondering where Zuko and Iroh are, don't worry. They'll pop back in soon. :D Thanks again to all reviews/faves!

*************

Hiruzen Sarutobi gazed intently into his crystal ball as he monitored the various activities of the villagers as they went about their business, particularly concentrating on this year's academy graduates. He had high hopes for this group. They had strong character and a true fighting spirit, not to mention two prodigious students from two very distinguished clans. Konoha was certainly living up to its reputation of producing elite ninja, a fact that made Sarutobi quite proud. It seemed per capita, more geniuses tended to pop up in this village than in any other shinobi nation. Let's see Sand give the world another Yellow Flash, or Rock another White Fang.

Indeed. Konoha didn't just have ninja. Konoha had _legends. _

_The Will of Fire lives on,_ he thought as he watched the faces of the next generation flash across the glass with a grandfatherly smile. He focused particularly on a boy with a shock of yellow hair and flashing blue eyes that was the very image of a student once very dear to Sarutobi. He was chattering away at a pink-haired girl who didn't seem very impressed by what he was saying, her little fist clenched as though she were getting ready to punch him.

His musings were interrupted by a flash of smoke and the sudden appearance of an ANBU bodyguard. Sarutobi blinked and whirled around in his chair, the image in his crystal ball dissolving into darkness.

The ANBU bowed in greeting.

"Hokage-sama,"he said, his voice muffled under his fox mask. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but I have news from spies in Water Country that a fleet of ships is approaching the eastern coast of the Fire Country, flying flags bearing a golden flame."

Sarutobi nodded, his interest piqued at what that meant.

"That must be the entourage of the Fire Nation. There's no need to worry. They've been invited to the Chuunin Exams as an extension of our friendship."

"Fire Nation? Is that the country that no one has heard from in fifty years?"

"The very same. Send a compliment of ANBU guard to intercept them at once. I want the Fire Nation princess formally escorted to our village."

Sarutobi noticed the curious tilt of the man's head at the word "princess." He grinned in spite of himself, for he too was interested in what she would look like. In her letter, she had stated that her father, the Fire Lord, was currently engaged in urgent military maneuvers and regrettably could not come himself, so she would take his place. Her words were crisp and decisive, yet coldly polite. If the Hokage had known what sort of person had written said letter, he may have had second thoughts about inviting her into his country.

"It will be done, Hokage-sama."

Another flash of smoke, and the ANBU guard vanished.

Sarutobi sighed thoughtfully, his gaze straying to the window to rest on the Hokage monument towering over Konoha in the distance. He lingered on the proud visages of his predecessors, wondering what they would think of these strange new visitors and what their presence would mean for the future of his village.

"I wonder what the spirits have in store for us."

**********

"So, Kakashi,"said Aang. "What are the Chuunin Exams exactly? I mean, I know they're for competition, but...what do you do?"

Kakashi glanced over his shoulder at the boy, who was leading his bison with a tether, his eyes wide with expectation. They were currently traveling down a trail through a deep forest, which had not been marked on Aang's map, but which Kakashi had said was a shortcut only nin from Konoha knew about. Katara walked alongside Aang, listening to their conversation, her curiosity now almost matching that of her companion. Despite having been to the Earth Kingdom, she had never really traveled, and seeing another country with people so very different than that which she was used to was fascinating. She had questions of her own, which she probably wouldn't get to ask with the way Aang kept chattering on. He'd only known Kakashi a total of three hours, yet had already adopted him as a sort of personal hero.

"Well,"said Kakashi, "Firstly, the exams are a prerequisite for genin who feel they're ready to be promoted to the next level. They're tested in a variety of ways in order for them to apply what they've learned from their teachers and the academy. It's not all about combat. It's also about survival skills, teamwork, and strategy."

"Sounds really interesting!"

Kakashi sighed inwardly at the innocent expression. Aang's intentions were good,if a little on the extreme side, yet the kid honestly had no idea what he was getting himself into. Kakashi had vivid memories of his own Chuunin Exams, which included generous amounts of blood, death traps, and waivers stating that Konoha was in no way responsible for any potentially lethal "accidents."

"It's hard, though,"Kakashi replied, choosing his words carefully, excluding words like _dangerous_, _frightening_, and _low survival rate_. "Not everyone passes on their first try. It's quite common for half of the participants to fail the first few parts of the exam. It's a way for the elder ninja to see who's really got what it takes to survive once their students are sent out on missions of their own."

"So, it's kind of like a rite of passage?"said Sokka from his perch in Appa's saddle.

Kakashi nodded. "In a way, yes."

"But, didn't it say on the poster that you have to be a member of an accredited academy?"

"It did. But the Hokage might make an exception for you. However, I wouldn't hope for too much."

"Well, I hope we didn't come all this way for nothing,"Toph interjected in a slightly annoyed tone as she shuffled along near Appa. "I wanna learn some stuff that's going to knock around those Fire Nation dunderheads." Here she smacked a fist into the palm of her hand to show just what she planned to do to those unfortunate future Fire Nation soldiers.

"Yeah! How do you guys fight?"Aang asked with renewed exuberance which seemed to selectively block out Kakashi's subtle warnings. "Do you have anything like bending?"

"Not like what your friend showed me earlier. There are thousands of different jutsu we use. Elemental types are only a fraction. There are also illusion jutsu, jutsu to increase speed and strength, healing jutsu, and so on. However, there are some abilities that can only be passed on through certain bloodlines, what we call Bloodline Limits, but that's getting a little too detailed. If you're truly serious about studying ninjutsu, you're going to have to start at the fundamentals. Chakra control, for starters, but judging by your "bending" skills, you won't have much trouble with that."

"Sounds like a lot to stomach," mused Sokka, a frown drawing down the edges of his mouth. He crossed his arms and stared skeptically down at Aang. "Aang, are you really sure this is what you want? I mean, how long do you really plan on staying here?"

"As long as it takes,"the boy replied without hesitation, turning around to glare defiantly up at the warrior, his expression momentarily taking on a hardness that was unsuited to so young a face. "I'll do anything to get stronger so I can save our world. Wouldn't you if you were the Avatar?"

Sokka studied Aang for a long moment through narrowed eyes, looking about a microsecond away from dashing his friend's spirits with a barrage of logical and carefully thought out reasons as to _why_ this harebrained scheme of his would never work. However, his realism didn't seem up to the task today, and Sokka exhaled heavily, seeming to deflate as he slouched back against the saddle.

"All right, you got me,"he said defeatedly with a hapless shrug. "Your morals win the day again."

Aang smiled.

"Thanks, Sokka."

"Ngh..."

"I had no idea there were so many ways to fight,"said Katara, ignoring her brother's sarcasm the way only siblings could. "Back in our part of the world, benders can only manipulate one element except the Avatar. You can use more than that?"

"Oh, yes," said Kakashi. "Believe it or not, you might be able to learn more than just water techniques."

Now Katara was definitely intrigued. Her blue eyes grew saucer sized as she tried to imagine herself learning earth jutsu. How could that even be possible? Water Tribe used water. Earth Kingdom used earth and that was that.

"But..._how?"_

"By using chakra. You're using it in your bending. Chakra is merely energy in your body that can be applied to any element or ninjutsu by learning to control its ebb and tide. It's basically just learning to manipulate your surroundings, including another person's energy. The possibilities are endless."

Sokka's realism decided to make a tenth round comeback, deftly slicing through the aura of wonderment glimmering off of his companions.

"Um...this chakra stuff of yours. Can non-benders or non-ninja use it?"

"Of course. Everyone has chakra. Those who are unable to use ninjutsu study taijutsu, which is totally focused on physical energy and rarely incorporates chakra. I'm assuming you asked that because you're not a bender?"

Sokka shot a withering glare a Kakashi's profile, unhappy that he'd managed to guess his shortcomings. It rankled having to be reminded that he was the odd man out.

"Nope. Just the guy with the boomerang,"he deadpanned, hunching his shoulders indignantly as he drummed his fingers on the sides of Appa's saddle.

"I see. Sorry if I might have offended you," Kakashi apologized, "But not being able to do ninjutsu doesn't mean you can't get stronger. We have a taijutsu expert who's one of our top ninja."

Sokka didn't seem the least bit reassured.

"Mmm-hmm. If you say so. I'll believe it when I see it."

"Well, you won't have to wait long. We'll be there tomorrow."

---------------

It went as Kakashi had promised. They had camped out for the night and he'd roused them early in the morning and they'd breakfasted on his extra rations of protein, which the gang had trouble stomaching since they were unaccustomed to eating anything with the taste and texture of mushy cardboard.

Half a day's hike later and many grumblings of aching appendages, Kakashi called for a rest. The ninja himself stood a few feet away to keep an eye out until he deemed they'd had enough down time.

"Actually, we're almost there,"he said, jerking a thumb over his should to the bend in the path ahead of them. "We should be seeing the gates any minute now."

That had been enough to send their spirits soaring, particularly and unsurprisingly that of Aang, who'd charged ahead of his friends to keep pace with Kakashi.

"Really? We're really almost there?"

"Yep. Just about another half mile. I'll take you to the Hokage and he'll set you up with a place to stay for the exams."

Aang beamed, any traces of exhaustion quickly vanishing from arms and legs that, five minutes ago, had been sore from traveling. He glanced back to his friends, unfettered that they didn't seem to be quite as excited as he was.

"Can you believe it, guys? We're really almost there!"

"It can't be soon enough,"sighed Sokka. "What I wouldn't give for a nice bed."

"And a bath,"added Katara, fussing with her braid.

They shot Toph a sideways look, clearly expecting her to add onto the list of missed comforts of civilization. They managed to forget, however, that Toph had pretty much been raised by badger moles.

"Nah. I'm good."


	6. Falling Into Place

A/N: Aha! You thought I'd give up, hadn't you? Well, surprise! It's a new chapter!

...

Azula had learned much during the last few hours of interrogating the locals (although they might be more apt to describe it as terrorizing). She'd learned that every country was ruled by a daimyo, a warlord of sorts much like her uncle had been during his younger days. However, only the larger countries could afford large enough militaries to contain a hidden village, which was ruled by kage, who had his own autonomy apart from the daimyo.

All of this further fueled her desire to press on to reach the Fire Country, leaving the people of Izumo, at least for the time being, to breath a sigh relief.

"It's time to head out,"she declared, as she and her companions made their way down a narrow dirt road that lead from the woodcarver's shop, down through a patch of wood, and back into the main harbor. "I think we've seen all we needed to here."

"Thank Agni,"sighed Mei, who, as always, had shown a distinct lack of enthusiasm in their endeavors.

Azula ignored her.

"I'm planning to reach the Fire Country by mid-day tomorrow. I think a small royal procession should make an adequate enough impression."

"What about all the other ships in the harbor?"asked Tai Li with a rare moment of insight.  
Azula paused to turn a wide, predatory grin at her, eyes gleaming with a wicked intent that immediately made the girl regret asking.

"We'll keep them there-just in case."

Mei, her mind wandering down avenues involving sharp objects aimed at Azula's face, suddenly jerked her head around to give the princess a slightly worried glance.

"You're not-"she started to say, but was interrupted by a sudden gust of wind that sent all three of them into defensive crouches, readying themselves for a possible attack. A huge cloud of smoke gushed into the clearing where they stood, obscuring their assailants. Mei blindly cast a handful of throwing knives into the gloom in the hopes of hitting at least one target, but the knives vanished with no sound of landing anywhere, and that gave her pause to wonder just who had happened on them.

No attack came, however, and when the smoke cleared three men stood before them wearing strange animal masks and dressed in black, still as the death they often brought in the shadows of the night. One of them had his hand raised, and in between his outstretched fingers glittered Mei's daggers. With a disinterested flick of his wrist, he tossed them aside to lay uselessly in the grass, clearly indicating that he found such things of little threat to himself and his companions; as if the fact that they had appeared in total silence out of thin air weren't enough indication as to just how outclassed they were. These men represented a type of danger that none of the girls had ever come across, and without having to ask, they knew immediately what they were looking at.

_Ninja. _

"Who are you?" Azula demanded, quite determined not to pay attention to the little voice in the back of her head that was suggesting, upon reflection, that it might have been a good idea to bring her guards with her. She was equally determined to snuff out the first awful twinges of fear that her bending might not be enough to fend these men off, instead concentrating on the familiar crackle of electricity twisting its way up from her stomach towards her fingertips.

"Be still," replied a man with a fox mask. "We mean you no harm. Are you Princess Azula of the Fire Nation?"

Azula cocked her head suspiciously as she studied him through narrowed eyes. She didn't lower her stance.

"Who wants to know?"

"The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi of Konoha wishes to know," the man replied in the same monotone voice, absolutely unfazed by her posturing. "We are his Black Ops, ANBU, and we have been sent to escort you to Konoha as an honored guest."

Azula did lower her stance at the words "honored guest," prompting Mei and Tai Lee to do the same. Her expression reset to its usual smug half-smile, liking the idea of having powerful men such as these had been sent to her like gifts.

"Intriguing," she said, drawing out the word as she adopted a more businesslike pose. "Yes, I am Princess Azula. My companions and I were just on our way back to my fleet. I was gathering information from the locals on this fascinating country of yours."

The fox-man nodded.

"We shall accompany you presently, if we may."

"You may. Now, if we could be getting on, I'll have a royal procession sent within the hour. Mei. Tai Li. Let's go."

...

"This...this is it?"

Aang's voice was hushed with a quiet awe as his eyes took in the sight of the Konoha gates for the first time. The massive doors, which had to be big enough to swallow one of the temples from his monastery, yawned widely to give him a glimpse of the rooftops inside that stretched towards a towering bluff in far distance. Strange red characters were painted on them, the meaning of which he didn't know. A watchtower perched above the defensive wall, and he wondered if they'd seen them coming, and what kind of welcome he'd expect to receive.

But he was here. And that was all that mattered.

"Home sweet home," said Kakashi fondly, following the boy's gaze. "Come on, let's get you settled."

"Those are some mighty big gates you got there," Sokka said, shading his eyes as he tipped his head back to take in the gate as they began to walk through it.

"Big wars,"replied Kakashi, and that was really all he need to say for them to understand. This land too, was not free from violence. Blood had been spilled here many times for many centuries and the village's very existence indicated it was a lifestyle that wasn't going to disappear any time soon.

"This place is at least as big as an Earth Kingdom city!" Toph exclaimed, genuinely impressed by what vibrations she was picking up. "I got to hand it to you, Twinkle Toes. You led us good."

"Yeah,"agreed Katara as some of the shops came into view. "I've never seen buildings like this before. What's that mean?"

Kakashi followed her pointing finger towards a sign done in red _hiragana_ above what looked like a type of restaurant.

"Oh, that? It's a ramen shop."

Katara threw him a puzzled look.

"Ra-men?"she asked, testing out the foreign word and unsure if she liked the sound.

"I-" Kakashi paused, deciding not to follow through with what he was going to say and instead replied, "You know what? I'll take you there later with my students and then you can see for yourself. It's quite good. One of my students is especially fond of it."

"YEAAAAAHHH!"

Any further conversation was forestalled as something came hurtling towards them as they emerged from underneath the gate-something large and clad rather garish green spandex. The figure landed a scant few feet in front of Kakashi, who seemed entirely nonplussed, as if green things falling from the sky were a regular occurrence.

The figure unrolled itself from a crouch to reveal a tall, muscular man with black hair styled in a n odd bowl cut and wearing the most ferocious grin the gang had ever seen. It wasn't exactly a friendly grin, either. It was the type of grin which oozed a rather in-your-face type of bravado and wasn't going to listen to you tell it to back off.

It wasn't listening now.

"Ha!"cried the man, striking an absurd pose that was intended to look heroic, but only ended up looking all the sillier since it resembled more of a flamenco dancer rather than a caped crusader. "Hatake Kakashi! I hope you're ready for this year's exams! We'll see whose students have the true Will of Fire"

Kakashi sighed, barely sparing the man a glance, taking more of an interest in the flower arrangements outside the Yamanaka flower shop.

"Hello, Gai," he said flatly.

"Ho, ho!" shouted Gai. "You think you can deflect me so easily with that cool demeanor! Just you wait! I have a real genius this year!"

"That's nice," Kakashi said with a limp wave of his hand.

This seemed to be taken as some sort of challenge to Gai.

"Oooo!" he cried, dramatically thrusting a finger a bit too close to Kakashi's face, which he calmly batted aside without so much as a blink. "You're in for it! Just you wait!"

Gai pivoted and leaped, soaring onto the nearest roof with a maniacal laugh that echoed on for an uncomfortable moment or two as he disappeared into the horizon.

Aang and his friends stared after him in the ensuing silence with wide-eyed amazement at the sheer randomness of what had just occurred, gazes darting quickly back and forth amongst each other as if hoping someone had an answer. Rivals in their neck of the woods didn't just fly in out of nowhere only to throw vague taunts at them and vanish. They tended to stick around and shoot fireballs at them with annoying frequency and persistence whilst yelling about honor or some evil plan for world conquest.

"Um..."Sokka said hesitantly, blinking rapidly several times just to be sure of he'd just seen. "What was that?"

"That's what we call a Gai-sensei," Kakashi deadpanned. He turned a horribly bright smile on Sokka. "He's our taijutsu expert."

_"What?"_

"He seemed a little...off," Aang mused, tapping the side of his head in a meaningful gesture-the meaning of which could only be "totally off his rocker."

"He's a good sort," Kakashi replied, patting Sokka on the shoulder to ease his terror at the proposition of having to learn from someone like Gai. "Don't look so frightened. He just got the idea into his head somehow that we're rivals. Right, shall we get going?"

They started off again towards the Hokage's Tower, their presence drawing many a curious stare, but since Aang and his friends were obviously in the company of such a high-ranking ninja, no one said anything. (In front of them, at any rate.) It was just as well, because Aang, Sokka, Katara and Toph were too busy taking in the sights and sounds of their new environment.

The buildings were nothing like they'd ever seen; made out of some sort of material that looked both pliable and sturdy with a dull shine to it. The people were clad in a rainbow mix of colors and styles that spoke of a degree of versatility and individuality that was distinctly lacking in the Four Nations, where each tribe dressed according to their own strict traditions. Here, it seemed, anyone could wear what they wanted. Only Kakashi, with his flak jacket emblazoned with a red swirling monogram, seemed to abide by any standards of uniform.

But perhaps the most striking feature of all was the overall feeling of peace and quietude that settled comfortably down on the village despite the presence of the immense outer fortifications. No one seemed to be in a rush, or looking over their shoulders in fear of angering the wrong person. The people here seemed contented, waving to each other and chatting casually in loose groups outside of homes and storefronts. Here, in this little island of serenity, the Fire Nation seemed like a thousand worlds away.

"Everyone seems so happy here,"Katara said wistfully as they passed through the main drag and into the the administrative part of Konoha. "I'm a little surprised. I thought...well, since this was a ninja village, it would be a more...stark, I guess."

"Yeah, in our world, you have to always be looking out for Fire Nation soldiers,"Sokka added with a dark expression. "They raid wherever the feel like it."

"Indeed. We've been very fortunate,"Kakashi agreed. "But the price we had to pay for this peace was a great one. Twelve years ago, this village was almost entirely destroyed. But it was spared thanks to the brave actions of our Hokage. It's a fragile thing we can never take for granted."

He stopped to point at the colossal cliff face of reddish granite looming in their immediate field of vision, and they saw four giant faces carved within its rock; fierce, competent visages of men, three young, and one elder. Their expression gave the impression of watchfulness, the sleepless guardians of a village they had protected for generations.

"The Hokage Monument,"Kakashi said with a note of reverence in his voice. "Built to commemorate our founders and those who have served us in the past. The oldest one you see is our Third Hokage, Sarutobi-sama."

"But there are four faces up there,"Aang said, peering up at the monument with awestruck eyes, his fertile imagination conjuring up images of intrepid men battling the forces of evil. In that respect, he supposed, the Hokage were not unlike the Avatar; bound to a duty to keep the balance of the world in place at all costs. He felt his admiration for these people grow even stronger than it had been, and he was looking all more forward to learning from them.

"Sarutobi-sama was called back into service after our Fourth, Minato Namikaze-sama, died. He was the one who stopped the Tailed Beast from attacking Konoha. Hokage carry the title their entire lives, even if they retire to allow a younger successor to take their place."

"What's a 'Tailed Beast'?" asked Aang.

Nine tails of angry fire and eyes blazing with demonic rage flashed unpleasantly across the jounin's memory; The Kyuubi reared its ugly head, savage fangs bared in a hate-filled grimace as it had laid waste to the village under its feet in mindless bloodlust, attacking without provocation or reason; merely unleashing its fury on anyone or anything in its path. And now that creature of darkness lay chained and quiescent within one of his students who had suffered needlessly for a thing not his fault.

The memory vanished in menacing echoes of the Kyuubi's unholy roars, and Kakashi started to find the children staring up at him with a mixture of concern and uneasiness. He realized that he'd let his mind get away from him too long, and he let out a stuttering chuckle.

"I'd better leave that one for the Hokage,"Kakashi said, slipping back into his usual easygoing nature, rubbing the back of his neck in discomfort. "Come. I'll take you to him now."

...

A rickety, horse-drawn cart clattered its way out of Misora Village, inside of which two figures sat in belligerent silence. (Well, belligerent on the part of the younger figure.) They'd used the last of their coin to procure a ride from the merchant on his way to Konoha in exchange for a meal from the merchant's supplies. While being well-fed left the elder of the two feeling rather pleasantly content, his younger companion continued to mutter imprecations under his breath and behave like an all in all insufferable brat.

"This better be the end of the line,"he snarled, head titled down to hide his face underneath his wide-brimmed straw hat.

"Our merchant friend has assured me that Konoha is no more than a half day's journey from here."

"I recall you saying something similar on that skiff."

"Patience, nephew."

"I recall you saying _that,_ too."

The elder heaved a vociferous sigh and offered an apologetic shrug to the merchant, who didn't seem the least offended by his nephew's ungrateful attitude. He had to admit that as laid-back as he was, he was getting a little tired of having to make amends on behalf of the hot-headed young man.

"Get some rest," he soothed, knowing that it was an empty gesture. The boy looked about as relaxed as a cornered tiger. "Tomorrow will be the beginning of something new."

"It better be. Because this method of traveling is getting rather _old._"


End file.
